2012: Back to the Basics

I'll be honest.  Goal setting is not my favorite thing to do, but after reading my friend's blog post for her 2012 goals I was inspired to organize some thoughts.  The irony is that I started writing this post this morning in my "free time", and at the end of the day I'm not even half way done. And me getting side tracked by blog writing falls under the #6 priority I'm going to list, so I'm condensing this entire post in the hopes to start the year off right! The most important event happening in our family this year is the birth of our 3rd child in April, and so because of that my "Word of the Year" is "BASICS":

1.  Bible Reading-it is foolish to think we can enter a new year on solid ground without this.  I have found a read the Bible thru in a year guide.  I don't plan on pressuring myself to complete every last verse with a newborn on the way, but having a guide will maximize the reading I can do!  I know that one-on-one time with the Lord is special.  And reading his Word daily will help me focus on eternal things when life is being lived in 3-hour eat-play-sleep cycles!

2.  Household Chores-boy this one doesn't sound nearly as enjoyable as #1!   Fact is it has to get done, and everyone in the home is more relaxed when they have a clean house and clean clothes.  I will most especially push this in the next 3 months to get us off on the right foot!  To stay motivated, I'll utilize some handy websites (www.flylady.net, www.orgjunkie.org) and read good books to help me with my attitude (The Practice of the Presence of God, Taking Care of the Mommy in Me).

3.  Health & Fitness- My husband and I could always lose more weight, my daughter always needs to gain more weight, and my son needs to increase the number of foods he eat.  Food is a bit of a stressor in our home!   I'll be using the Best Odds Diet to get me through the 3rd trimester and nursing.  I've already started meal planning, which although time consuming, definitely helps in the grocery run and helps me not have to think of what to make on a given day.  Sleep deprived people can always benefit from not having to make smart choices in a hurry.  The calendar can just tell me what to cook!  I know working out regularly will also help my sleep patterns with a newborn.

4.  Finances-Before we moved a year ago we finally gave away all our baby stuff because "we were done".   So in the next 3 months I have lots to buy.  It's not the time to forget what I know helps our sanity...living within our means.  So it may get hard to make all those purchases with cash, but for our own peace we must.

5.  Medical-Our daughter has a disease that requires daily medications and breathing treatments.  Our son receives special services weekly that benefit him greatly.  My husband and I both take prescription medication for chronic conditions.  It will be crucial that we learn how to stick to these necessary routines while integrating a new member into the family.

6.  And so the most important priority is that we don't do anything else!  I realize these "basics" are as simple as it gets, but that's the point.  At the end of this year, I may not have quantitative markers to show I accomplished anything, but if we have been able to continue the "basics", live in *relative* harmony, and introduce a fifth person into our mix after six years of being a family of four, then I will be satisfied. 

2011 > 2012

2011 In Review:

• February "Blizzard of 2011"
• April-Timothy got glasses.  He loves them!
• June-My first homeschooling conference.
• August-Dan made Chief, and I found out I was pregnant! 
• September-Samantha's sinus surgery & first CF related hospitalization
• November-Discovered we were having a little girl

2011 was a kind year to us.  The 5 years prior to this one have stretched us beyond belief, so I have to admit it was nice to have a slight reprieve. 

 

Looking ahead to 2012:

• As Samantha continues to have weight issues, she will be getting a g-tube if we don't see some consistent progress.  Praying hard about that.
• In early April, we meet Hannah Grace!  Big changes ahead!
• Timothy will continue receiving amazing therapy.
• Dan will start getting paid as a Chief-yippee!!

I'm grateful to God for the hard years and the "easier" ones.  Whichever 2012 turns out to be, I can't wait to experience it with my precious Savior.

Thanksgiving Thoughts

This week I heard someone speaking to a group of people say something to the effect, "Just in case you didn't know, Thanksgiving isn't all about food."  That struck me a little funny at the time since the first Thanksgiving was literally all about the fact that the Pilgrims finally had food!  I know the point he was making...let's not gorge ourselves all day like mindless fools.  But as I contemplate our Thanksgiving banquet table this year, 2 thoughts keep popping up:

1)  I'm thankful for the food.  This year my family had some financial surprises that threw us for a loop.  For a few months, I was digging in the pantry on more than one occasion to pull out some canned tuna just to make it to pay day.  It wasn't pleasant!  Am I trying to say it was anywhere near what some people experience every day, every week?  No.  But did it teach me to be thankful for canned tuna?  Absolutely!  And when I bought groceries this week to make our Thanksgiving meal, I was particularly mindful that if that financial shock had happened in November, we would be eating tuna for Thanksgiving...and we would be thankful we were eating at all. 

2)  Jesus told a parable of a great supper to symbolize grace.  In Luke 14:15-23 we read that a man had prepared a feast, but everyone he invited had an excuse for not attending.  This man wanted his house full and all his food eaten, so he told his servants to go get the poor, sick, blind, and lame.  This is the invitation made by Christ.  His grace extends to everyone!  Sadly, those who often have their lives "together" don't recognize their need for the feast!  It's only those who admit their own need that cling to Christ's invitation.  So as I gaze on our Thanksgiving meal this year, I will ponder how that abundance of food represents the abundant, mercy-filled life that I live.

Aren't you glad you have been invited to the feast?

Good Friday: An Earth Day Testimony

Two years ago my birthday fell on Good Friday, and let's just be honest:  it was awkward being happy. How in the world could I fully enjoy celebrating my birthday on the day that my Lord gave his life for mine? This year Earth Day falls on the same day as Good Friday. Signs celebrating Earth Day are everywhere, and every one of them makes me a little sad. As much as I think we should care for our earth, I just wish the giant banners were marking Good Friday.

I wonder if anyone realizes the ultimate Earth Day was the original Good Friday.  Look what happened in Matthew 27:51-54...

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

Did you catch that?  When the guards saw the earth quake, rocks split, and tombs break open, they believed!!!  The earth shared a testimony that pointed directly to the glory of God!

May we speak about the Creator as boldly as the earth did that day! 

And may those who hear us believe!

Memorial Day

As a Navy wife, I am thanked repeatedly for my husband's service. Friends and strangers both are loving and honoring. I am still surprised how Dan will be stopped in the middle of the grocery store and thanked if he is in uniform.

On Memorial Day, I am easily reminded that what I go through is not anything near like those who we honor today. They didn't just serve...they sacrificed. And their wives didn't just lose sleep and sanity and social events, they lost their loved ones...permanently.

Last night, Timothy asked "how do we celebrate Memorial Day?" (knowing each holiday has it's own traditions). I said, "We take time to think about the military who died so we can live freely in the United States of America". He said, "They died?" Yes, and since we are the beneficiaries of their sacrifice, we honor them today.

Image found on Flickr.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Yes, today is my birthday. I turn 36 today, and I'm just too old to beat around the bush! For my birthday this year, I want 36+ comments! You can say Happy Birthday, you can type in your blog address (for others to see it!), you can do whatever! But when I get back to San Diego Sat night, I would love to see the most comments I've ever gotten! Thank you!

I Read It! Easter Edition

I really don't have a library of Easter books, so I was very thankful when Carrie wrote this post. We ended up reading these two books, and they were fantastic. Carrie describes them perfectly.

One thing I really like about the Happy Day Easter books is that they connect the traditional festivities we participate in to the true meaning of Easter. I liked this series so much that I bought two more in it...

A Child's Story of Easter

This book portrays the Biblical Easter story and on each page there are 3-4 questions to engage the child's thought processes. These books have a "reader" type format, so they are simple enough for my kindergartner to read on his own and yet present real Biblical truth.

The BEST Thing About Easter

The bookstore I was at also sold the coloring books in the series. The exact same words are on each page above or below the picture. I bought the coloring book version of this last book. This gives my 3 yr old a way to interact with the story more personally. Plus, it was half the price!

For more I Read It! posts, click over to 5 Minutes for Books!

Ireland & Cystic Fibrosis

I am of Irish descent, but unless you knew my maiden name and the fact that my entire family has red hair, I don't know that you would guess that. In fact, I've never thought very much about my ethnicity until I had a child born with Cystic Fibrosis. While CF does affect EVERY race (I do not want to be misleading), it occurs most often in white people of Northern European descent. Remembering that approximately 30,000 Americans have CF, here is the statistical breakdown:

1. About 1 of every 3,600 Caucasians is born with CF
2. About 1 of every 17,000 African Americans
3. About 1 of every 90,000 Asian Americans

And the stats on those who are CF carriers in America varies. Any idea which stat is right?:

• CF Foundation says 10 million, 1 in every 31
• Every other site I've found says 12 million, 1 in every 20

With St. Patrick's Day approaching, I got to wondering what the CF stats look like in Ireland. I was surprised to learn that...

• With 1100+ CF Patients, Ireland has the highest proportion of CF people in the world.
• Approximately 1 in 19 is a carrier for the CF gene.

Always consult your local CF clinic first, but the CFAI has a lengthy list of online publications, including "A guide for Parents of Newly Diagnosed Children with CF". And they even have a website for their CF Registry! I thought that was pretty cool! Have a safe and happy St. Patrick's Day!

CFers or carriers...tell us about your ethnicity if you know it.

Celebrate Your Name Week!

I read over on Katey's blog that the first week of March is Celebrate Your Name Week, and I just had to learn more about it. Well, each day focuses on something different. There are only 3 more days remaining, and today's and tomorrow's are:

March 6 - Nametag Day: Celebrate your name by wearing it proudly! (Not necessarily suggested for unsupervised children.)

March 7 - Middle Name Pride Day: Today’s name celebration requires honesty and boldness. Tell three people who don’t already know it, what your middle name is.

I've decided to combine these two days and put my middle name on a virtual nametag! I'm thinking I've worn enough church nametags into restaurants to count Nametag Day, and I'm hoping that by putting my middle name, GWEN, on my blog that 3 people who have never known it will learn it!

Definition of GWEN: From Welsh gwen, the feminine form of gwyn meaning "white, fair, blessed".

My middle name is fine. I don't hate it, but I don't know if I love it either. I don't think I was given "Gwen" for the meaning, but I am definitely white & fair, and extremely blessed! I'm from Irish descent (as you'll hear more about later this month), but I think the fact that this is a Welsh name is coincidental. Most people probably know my middle name more than usual because it's in my email address.

What is your middle name? Please share!

Valentine's Day E-Cards for Cystic Fibrosis

Send a card from the heart and help some one's lungs!

The CF foundation is offering a wonderful opportunity. You can send a Valentine's Day e-card illustrated by a CF child to someone you care about. The card pictured here is one of the amazing options. The cost of the e-card is by donation so you can determine the amount you want to give, and there is also a box that states whether or not the receiver will see the amount. Click here to send your e-card this week!

Why roses are significant to CF families...

"65 Roses" is the nickname given to CF after a little girl with Cystic Fibrosis overheard her mom on the phone talking about the disease. Every time the mom said "Cystic Fibrosis", the little girl thought she said, "65 Roses".

This Valentine's Day, when you see roses, please say a prayer for someone you know who has CF and/or someone who cares for someone with CF.

Some Days I Feel like a Groundhog

I put all my hopes and expectations on the events of one day or one person. I decide in advance that the outcome of that particular experience will determine my short-term happiness. For example,

I have not had an email conversation with my husband since Tuesday night. I'm used to a day or two of email being down, but 6 days!!! Please don't make me stretch as a person!

Timothy is getting this weird sickness. It's been a stuffy/runny nose for a few days and a tiny cough when sleeping. Well, last night he still only showed the stuffy nose, but he was clearly miserable. I vaguely remember him crawling into my bed last night, but once he started KICKING me non-stop I realized he was there! For the next 2-3 hours he kept kicking me in his sleep because he was so restless.

I need continual, restful sleep to be a functioning human being.

I tried teaching him to face away from me so that when he kicked it would hit the air. I moved him back to his bed once, but he just found his way back to my bed 20 minutes later. I was so disoriented that it took hours of this before it dawned on me to give him medicine. So after some tylenol and benadryl, I went to sleep. I don't know how long after I heard him say, "I'm going back to my bed," and he's been there the rest of the night. Thank God!

In the night I heard him say, "Mom, I don't want to go to school today." He never says that, so we'll see how he's doing when he wakes up this morning. But it seems like if he has no fever, I should still take him?? We've been blessed with no sickness yet in Kindergarten, so I've never had to make this decision.

Two factors are influencing my day: no communication with my husband and a serious lack of sleep, so here is my plan...

Romans 12:12

12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Psalm 63:6-8

6 On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.

7 Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.

8 My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.

Yes, there may be 6 more weeks of winter, 6 more months of deployment, and 6 more days of no email with Dan, but praise be to my God I don't have to depend on any of that to determine my joy or my sanity! My hope is in the Lord.

Celebrating New Year's Eve With Kids, Part II

We had a lot of fun New Year's Eve night utilizing these 5 Tips I read on 24/7 MOMS. Tips 4 & 5 will have to wait another year, but here's how we used Tips 1-3:

1. FAST FORWARD - This one was a bit easier for us being on the West Coast. The New York ball dropping is aired live, so we let the kids stay up to 9PM to "Ring in the New Year"!!!

2. BUBBLE WRAP STOMP - This was fun, but may go over a little better when the kids are a little older. The kids thought it was cool initially, but when it came time to actually doing it we had some problems. Timothy was frustrated because he couldn't quite get it to work. Then he was bothered by the fact that Dan and I kept popping them after that imaginary time span that we were allowed to. Samantha quietly opposed by covering her ears and running away. Hmmm...

3. BOARD GAME BONANZA - This was a huge hit. We had 10 games, so we "counted down" to the new year 10....1. It took right at one hour and 5 minutes. Here is our stack.

Dan said he was going to have me committed, but he joined in the game playing fun anyway. Timothy thought the idea of playing 10 games was awesome, and in keeping with the obsessive nature of our precious boy, he had to determine the order that all 10 games would be played in before we could start the first one.

That order was:

Candy Land
Scooby Doo
Dexter's Laboratory
Crazy Eights
Uno
Old Maid
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Go Fish
War/Battle (from kindergarten)
Lucky Ducks

What turned out to be really fun is at the end of 9 games Dan, Timothy, and I were all tied with 3 wins each. And guess who won Lucky Ducks? Your truly was the New Year's Eve Board Game Bonanza champion!!!

So did you use any of the tips? Or do you have your own tip to tell us about?

Celebrating New Year's Eve With Kids

This is the first year that my 5 year old has started to "attach" traditions to each holiday. I hadn't even really thought about traditions with New Year's, but the fact is we have them! And since Timothy is a bit obsessed (understatement) with the calendar, switching over to 2009 will be important to him. That's why I was so excited when 24/7 MOMS posted this wonderful article entitled 5 New Year's Eve Tips for Families, written by Trish Berg at Tip of the Week.

I love tip #2 which is let your kids stomp and stomp on bubble wrap to ring in the new year. I'm headed to the store tomorrow to buy some! I'm going to do as many of these tips as I can and post what happened (along with pics of course) on Friday, January 2nd. I hope you will join me by picking at least one tip to make your New Year's Eve a memorable event for your kids!

Airports Interest Me

In my single days, I did quite a bit of airplane traveling. As long as you don't have preschoolers you're trying to keep happy, airports can be very enjoyable! So when I flew to Texas recently without the kids, I couldn't help but make some observations during my layover at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas...

A BEST BUY vending machine!!!! Are you kidding me? I knew it had been a while since I had flown, but how behind the times am I? You can see at the front of the picture is a Nintendo DS, there were a few camera options, and every possible accessory you can imagine. And believe it or not, the prices weren't higher than at a normal Best Buy. I only know that because I just purchased the DS for hubby 2 weeks prior for his birthday (oops-I meant to blog about that!) According to this article, they started in a handful of cities in September, so I guess if they're successful Best Buy will put them everywhere!

Right next to the Best Buy vending machine (that is the funniest thing to say), was the Charge Carte. Brought to you by the same people who take your money for a Smart Carte. For only $3.00, this station can charge your phone to 50% of its power (that's the claim, at least). I thankfully didn't need to use it, but I can definitely see it being a useful service if I was out of battery power. As you can see, every phone/plug possible is included.

Another wonderful thing about airports is that they are usually decorated beautifully for the holidays. Upon my return to San Diego, I was greeted with this Snowman themed tree. Since we can't have them on the ground, I guess someone got creative!

Christmas "Bloopers"

Sarah at Real Life is hosting a Christmas Photo Bloopers Carnival. So here's the thing. We don't send an end of year family photo, and you're about to see why. My children, who are usually pretty happy-go-lucky when it comes to camera time, turn into little monsters when it's a "family photo". These are the 2 family photos I have from the year, and as you can see by Timothy's face (wow, if looks could kill), it's scary more than funny!

But I do have Christmas bloopers ON PHOTO. These gave me a giggle...

Samantha wants to give each nostril equal opportunity. Two nostrils require two fingers. It's not just for this picture. She's doing this ALL the time. It's not so much a nose pick as a nose flick. She pops the fingers up and out very quickly. It always looks painful, and of course there's the fact that SHE'S STICKING HER FINGERS UP HER NOSE!

The next one has to do with a present Samantha received. I thought these Crayola Tub Crayons would be a nice stocking stuffer, and they were. But before they ever got to the tub to be used Samantha decided they would work well on her brand new Doodle Pro and our carpet (first thing you see when you walk in the front door). It came off of the Doodle Pro, and we're still working on the carpet. Yikes!

The biggest blooper of the season isn't pictured. Timothy was in his first Christmas musical, and he basically accomplished every stereotype out there before it was over. Because there are tons of kids in every picture and video, I just couldn't bring myself to post it, but here are a few things he did:

1. Unchoreographed dancing while someone had a solo
   
   
2. Worked for at least 5 minutes to put a rubber band back on a newspaper prop
   
   
3. Then used the newspaper as a telescope to see everyone in the audience
   
   
4. Started poking the girl next to him just because he could
   
   
5. When she scolded him, he poked her more and giggled incessantly
   
   
6. Violent head shake as a finale
   
   
   Yes, he was on the front row and in the middle. And yes every other 5 year old decided to be on their very best behavior for this Christmas musical. But he didn't scream, didn't cry, and didn't hit anyone so we count his first musical a victory!
   
   

   We had a ton of closed eyes this Christmas. Guess they knew I would be linking to this carnival!
   

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Both kids with eyes closed:
   
   
   
   I'll close with even a little cameraman (woman) blunder:
   
   
   
   Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Presents Galore: Real & Virtual!

We had quite a fun Christmas this morning. Presents do multiply like rabbits, though, don't they? It seems like we always open up more than we put under the tree. We are spoiled, but thankful.

I'll just touch on the gift highlights...

Dan-8 GB thumb drive from my parents. Very cool! My gifts to him were more follow up to other gifts this month. I bought him (us) a frame for one of our anniversary pics and a carrying case for his DS. Oh, and Timothy gave him a "gently used" Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

Timothy-Nintendo Wii & Mario Kart. Need I say more? This boy has been studying Mario Kart characters on the computer for well over a year now. He is in heaven. My step-mom made us matching aprons, which I LOVE and can't wait to cook in the kitchen with my kiddos.

Samantha-My dad & step-mom got her a Little Einstein's toy laptop, which has a really neat spaceship shaped mouse that will be good practice for a real mouse. The huge hit of the day is the Littlest Pet Shop. She played with it for almost 2 hours straight!

Timothy has had a Doodle Pro since before Samantha was born, so we bought one for her this year. As you can see in just 3 years, they've changed the design quite a bit. Samantha's is handy because the shape holder is now magnetic to make it stick better. So as long as she remembers to put the shape back in it's spot, we won't lose them. Timothy's have all disappeared, but as long as the drawer is closed you would never know it! As soon as we lose one of hers, it will be much more obvious. Which design do you prefer?

Me-Dan really over "gave" to me this year, but he reminded me these presents have to stretch out over deployment. So to ease my guilt I'll count these as Christmas, V Day, and B-day presents. I got 2 kitchen gifts from my step-mom, and then these 3 from Dan!

My Christmas was topped off by 2 blogging presents:

1. Print Shop from my parents-I can't wait to play with that!
2. My 10,000th Page Load!!! This gift comes from Kristen McLane at kristenmclane.com. This is appropriate since I met Kristen via blogging right before she moved to San Diego! Her blog is full of humor and wonderful anecdotes as they transition to a new city! Ironically, on Tuesday I received this Pillsbury basket I won from Kristen's wonderful giveaways. Hopefully it won't take me another 16 months to get 10,000 hits!

Celebrating the Birth of Jesus Christ!

He is our ...

JOY (Luke 2:8-11)

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord..."

HOPE (1 Peter 1:3)

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

PEACE (Ephesians 2: 13-16)

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

2008 Virtual Tour of Homes

I've been in Texas since I wrote last, and have lots of fun stuff to blog about! While I'm writing those posts, I thought I would take you on a Christmas tour of my home! I must start with the stockings because Tip Junkie was kind enough to answer my question: "Do you have some creative ideas for hanging stockings without a mantle?" She found several solutions (thank you, Tip Junkie!), and I decided on this one:

In case you're wondering why I only have 2, I just never got around to buying more as the family has grown! So for at least one more year only the kids have them.

"Mommy and Daddy's" Nativity:

"Samantha and Timothy's" Nativity:

This Christmas tic-tac-toe set is a child favorite...

These are my 2 "new" things this year...

I actually already had this small tree, the Christmas balls, and the tree topper, but I've never put them together like this. The simplicity is very much "me". Dan brought the tree skirt (it's actually a table runner) back from Dubai last year, and I think it's such a nice complement to this tree topper that I'm going to make it a Christmas item!

This is our advent calendar purchased at Target this year. Each square can hold 2 pieces of candy or 2 small ornaments. The kids have enjoyed this thoroughly. I give them the choice of hanging their ornament on the little tree (pictured above) or the main tree. Timothy always picks the small tree, and Samantha always picks the tall tree.

To help you get in the Christmas spirit, head on over to Tip Junkie's Virtual Tour of Homes-Holiday Edition.

Tip Junkie Shoutout!

I have to give some bloggy love to Laurie, the Tip Junkie. Her blog's purpose is to find and share tips and creative ideas. These tips are both practical and aesthetically appealing. So when I was trying to figure out the best way to hang my stockings without a mantle, I wrote her and asked! Well, being the amazing Tip Junkie that she is, she answered my question with a post on her site!! And she found some wonderful solutions. So head on over to Tip Junkie to see some options for hanging stockings without a mantle, and then explore everything her blog has to offer! And in a few days I'll show you what I have decided to do!